Ekwe is an Igbo traditional musical instrument. It is a type of drum with a rectangular cavity slits in the hollowed out wooden interior. The Ekwe is made out of wood and most commonly a tree trunk, Ekwe comes in varieties of sizes and designs.
The true design ingenuity appears in how the ekwe is constructed. To think of the time and patience required to hollow out, smooth, and measure rectangles from a log is astonishing.
To play the ekwe, the player will need to use a pair of stick which were also traditionally created using wood.
THE ORIGIN OF EKWE NIMO
Nimo is a community in present day Anambra state. Due to high profile personalities, it is one of the most outstanding communities in Anambra state. Not only this, Nimo is even more outstanding among the communities in Anambra because of its legendary Ekwe musical instrument.
Because of the general lack of literacy among Africans, the exact origin of Ekwe Nimo is unknown. However, legendary traces the origin back to the communal war between Nimo and an ancient neighbour called Uwa community.
In an extensive interview with Mr Gilbert Nwafor Okonji (Oti Ekwe Nimo), Angel network News gathered that the communal war between these two communities was so strong that Nimo people were constantly defeated by their more witty advisory.
According to Otiekwe Nimo, the consistent defeat by Uwa people was not because Uwa has more powerful warriors but because topography gave them the advantage of springing up surprised attacks on Nimo every now and again.
The defeats were a serious worry. Thus, Nimo people visited a great dibia, seeking how to get back at their enemies. The dibia appointed one of the elders of Nimo and gave him divine power to decipher when Uwa community were coming for attacks.
The deity did not just gave the elder power to know when the attackers would come but it also fashioned an Ekwe from the biggest iroko tree at the centre of village square of the community. The elder was placed in charge of the ekwe. He was asked to use the ekwe to alert Nimo warriors about any impending attack.
With the help of ekwe the people of Nimo were able to defeat Uwa people thereby restoring peace in the community.
Therefore, the Ekwe in the words of Otiekwe Nimo is first of all, a symbol of peace. It is also a symbol of unity because before the ekwe was fashioned by the great deity, the different families that make up Nimo community today use to live as separate hamlets. The ekwe was what brought them together and made them into one community.
Importance of Ekwe in Nimo community
According to Mr Gilbert, Ekwe is a peculiar traditional musical instrument that reminds member of Nimo community of its rich culture and is one of the oldest musical instrument in Nimo which is current in use.
Apart from musical functions, ekwe also performs extra musical functions. Ekwe could be used for emblematic representations. It can be used for decorations in ozo title celebration. It is also used to give signals and for directing the ozo men during performances or for summoning the good people of Nimo to the village square. “Any true son or daughter of Nimo cannot hear the sound of the Ekwe Nimo without rushing to find out what is going on.”
Mr Gilbert added that ekwe is also a medium of communication not just in nimo but in the entire Igbo land. It is regarded as a spokesman to the ozo initiates, the Igwe(Owelle) and titled men who can interpret the language of the sounds.
How many times Ekwe is played in a man’s life
Oti Ekwe Nimo revealed to Angel Network News that there is an igbo proverb that says ugboro abuo ka ekwe na –akpo dike, okpo ya na – ndu, okpo ya na onwu which means that ‘’ekwe calls on a great man two times: in life and in death.’’ Ekwe is performed in life and in death , during the ozo initiative Ekwe is played and during the burial of an ozo titled man all the tunes of the ekwe that is played during his initiation shall also be played.
Ekwe is fading away
Angel network news gathered in this interview with Otiekwe Nimo that Nimo community is currently overrun by Christian doctrines and practices.
He lamented this decrying that it has led to the erosion of Igbo/Nimo tradition. According to him, what gives a people their identify is tradition such that a people without tradition have lost their tradition.
Insisting that Christianity is the white-man’s tradition, Otiekwu Nimo called on Nimo youths to return to their root. “It is only through such return that the myriad of problems facing young people today can be resolved.”
